In his August 14 address at the Wharton Club, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani spoke of the inefficiencies of the public school system and the success of the Catholic school system. The Mayor said that “if we don’t do something, and do something dramatic, it’s [the public school system] close to collapse.” Mayor Giuliani called for a program of “radical reform” and urged education offi- cials to consider Catholic schools as a model.

The Catholic League praised Mayor Giuliani for broaching the subject by releasing the following statement to the press:

“Mayor Giuliani is to be commended for opening a much needed debate on the problems that are inherent in New York’s public school system. While there are good public schools and bad Catholic schools, the record shows that overall Catholic schools are superior to their public competitors. This is especially true of Catholic schools in the inner city.

It is no secret that poor African American students, most o fwhom are not Catholic, perform at or above national standards when enrolled in Catholic schools.

“The time has come for those who claim to support the best interests of minority children to support any initiative-voucher or otherwise-that might facilitate indigent parents in placing their children in the school of their choice. If parochial schools offer a more reliable ladder to social mobility, then it is in the public interest to provide public support for such efforts. The lives and livelihood of minority children should not be jettisoned because some elites entertain a phobia about religion.”

Unfortunately, Mayor Giuliani does not support a voucher program for New Yorkers, though fully 73% have said they would send their own children to private schools if they could.

Timothy Mulhearn is the president of United New Yorkers for Choice in Education. For information, write to him at P.O. Box 4096, Hempstead, New York 11551-4096, or call (516) 292- 9019.

The Catholic League’s New York headquarters’ staff has grown again in order to meet the increasing demands of continued growth. Alex Mejia will be working in member services and will double as staff photographer.

For the third consecutive year the Catholic League attended the Christian Coalition’s Road to Victory conference. With famous speakers and a pro-family agenda, the conference gave the League the opportunity to display information about its work; along with numerous other activist groups the League featured a booth that displayed books, copies of Catalyst , and other pertinent material. Dr. William Donohue, Bernadette Brady, and Susan Fani attended the conference.

The League placed an advertisement in the Coalition’s guidebook. The message was “It’s the Culture, Stupid.” Explaining the League’s history and recent growth along with providing general information, the ad decried the debasement of the culture which is contributing to the spread of anti-Catholic and anti-Christian sentiment.

In addition to hearing such speakers as Sen. Phil Gramm, Dr. Alan Keyes, Rep. Henry Hyde, Pat Buchanan, and Phyllis Schlafly, League representatives had the opportunity to attend various workshops. Among these were Parental Rights, Outcome-Based Education, and School Choice.

Of particular interest to League members was the workshop on Protesting Religious Bigotry.

The Catholic League has established four new chapters in the south and west, bringing the total number of active chapters to seven. Catholic League president Dr.WilliamA Donohuehas appointed Dr. Richard 0. Perry of Tucker, Georgia as president of the Atlanta chapter, Robert G. Strong of El Paso, Texas as presi- dent of the El Paso chapter; Atty. Carl H. Horst of Chula Vista, California as president of the San Diego chapter; and, Atty. Thomas F. Carney, Jr. of Boynton Beach, Florida as president of the South Florida chapter.

The new chapters will serve as media watchdogs for the national headquarters and provide a vigorous, grass-roots presence for the League in their local communities. They join existing chapters in Long Island, Massachusetts and Philadelphia.

Through the work of the chapters, Catholic League members can participate in the anti-defamation activities of the organization and lend their support to the League’s defense of religious freedom rights.